1983, Northeast China

Chapter 24 If the coat doesn't leave, the uncle won't leave.

Chen Shi gave the strips of cloth and the steamed buns to Zhao Defa. When he returned home, the steam from the fish soup was still rising, and there was still a pile of firewood in the stove.

Yellow Ear also crawled back to the doorway, its front legs wrapped in cloth.

Ya Ya huddled in the kang (a heated brick bed), clutching the corner of the quilt with both hands, staring at the door for a moment and looking at the window for a moment.

When he came back and entered the room, her eyes were fixed on the door. He walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and her gaze followed him to the edge of the kang, as if she was afraid he would disappear.

Chen Xiulan patted her, "Yaya, go to sleep, your uncle is back."

Ya Ya nodded, her eyes still fixed on Chen Shi.

Seeing her like that, Chen Xiulan understood better than anyone else. The child wasn't not sleepy, she was just afraid to close her eyes.

"Uncle, are you still going out?" It sounded like he had been holding back for a long time before finally asking the question.

"She's afraid to sleep; she feels uneasy," Chen Xiulan told him.

Chen Shi then realized that Ya Ya had been looking at him, not the door.

"Uncle isn't going far." Chen Shi sat down next to her. "What's wrong?"

Ya Ya shook her head.

"Tell your uncle the truth, are you afraid there are still bad people outside the wall?"

With just one sentence, Ya Ya burst into tears.

"I'm afraid I'll fall asleep," she said, her voice choked with emotion. "What if bad guys come back? What if you disappear?"

Chen Shi reached out and wiped her face.

A child can't explain what being abducted means; he always feels that if he closes his eyes, bad people might come in.

He couldn't say he wasn't going anywhere.

He'll definitely be going out tomorrow; the whole family needs to eat and drink, and Ya Ya's steamed buns can't just stay on the menu. So he can't bring himself to say he's not going anywhere.

He lied to her, and when the child woke up and couldn't find him, he was even more afraid to sleep afterward.

Chen Shi thought for a moment, then got up and went to the outer room to take the old sheepskin coat off the nail in the wall.

After Chen Mancang left, he kept it for himself. It was a bit big, the leather was worn smooth, it had a smoky smell, and it still carried a hint of Chen Mancang's scent.

Chen Shi spread his coat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), next to Ya Ya's quilt.

Do you recognize it?

Ya Ya wiped her coat, "Grandpa's coat."

"Your uncle is wearing this now." Chen Shi stuffed the sleeve of the coat into her hands. "As long as the coat is here, your uncle is here. If you wake up at night, touch it. If it's still here, your uncle hasn't been lost."

Ya Ya clutched her coat sleeve and asked again, "Where are you?"

"Your uncle might be watching the fire in the outer room, chopping firewood in the yard, or going out to get you a new coat. He'll keep the coat under you and won't take it away."

The little girl gripped it even tighter.

Chen Xiulan reached out and touched the coat. "This coat isn't just for your uncle; it also smells like your maternal grandfather. When I was little, I used to sleep in it, and when I held it, your maternal grandfather would come back to me."

Chen Shi called Huang Er over again. Huang Er sniffed Ya Ya's head, turned around twice, found a suitable spot, and curled up on top of Ya Ya's head.

Seeing Huang Er approach, Ya Ya remembered Huang Er's injury again, "Does it still hurt?"

"It won't hurt if you don't touch the wound." Chen Shi patted the dog's head. "It'll guard you here. If there are bad guys at night, it'll be the first to hear them. With Huang Er guarding here, bad guys won't be able to get in."

Yellow Ear seemed to understand and wagged its tail.

Ya Ya looked down at Huang Er's tail, then touched her sheepskin coat, and tears fell one by one onto her pillow.

Chen Xiulan turned her face away, quickly stopping her tears. "Go to sleep." She gently patted Ya Ya's back. "Your uncle's coat is here, your mother is here, and Huang Er is here too."

Chen Shi sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), letting Ya Ya hold onto his sheepskin coat with one hand and his sleeve with the other.

After a long while, Ya Ya's eyelids slowly drooped.

Even after she fell asleep, her hand was still clutching Chen Shi's sleeve.

Chen Shi slowly pulled out his sleeves and changed into his sheepskin coat. Ya Ya's fingers twitched, then clenched again.

Yellow Ear raised its head and looked at him, but seeing that Ya Ya was still asleep, it put its head back on its paw.

Chen Shi brought the fish into the house, preparing to process it.

Chen Xiulan got off the kang (heated brick bed) with him and looked at the basin. "Don't boil all the big ones, keep one and freeze it. Dry the small willow roots and exchange them for salt. Don't throw away the fish roe, fry it with scallion leaves tomorrow, and Yaya can eat half a pancake more."

Chen Shi looked up at her: "Sister, take care of yourself first, I'll take care of these things."

"You know how to do it, but you've always been careless." Chen Xiulan deftly cleaned the fish. "If the fish roe breaks, it will taste fishy; if the gallbladder breaks, the soup will be bitter."

How do you still remember all this?

Chen Xiulan looked at Xiaoman and Yaya on the kang (a heated brick bed), "When Dad used to come back from the mountains, Mom and I would clean up after him. I knew how to skin rabbits, scrape fish skins, and tan skins. Just because Han Changgui doesn't have those skills doesn't mean I've forgotten them."

"It's not that I don't want you to take care of things, it's that I'm worried you'll get tired."

"It's not tiring," Chen Xiulan said. "Postpartum confinement is for recuperation, not for becoming a cripple. You go out to earn money, and I can take care of things at home. When you're a little older, I'll still need to find you a wife."

"Why are you talking about this?" In his previous life, he had never married since leaving home, so he was a little caught off guard by this topic.

Seeing that her younger brother's expression was unnatural, she didn't continue the topic, mainly because the family's current financial situation made it difficult to arrange anything.

"Chop the fish offal carefully, don't let any bones get stuck in its throat. It saved Yaya, we can't let it go to waste."

"Know."

He followed Chen Xiulan's instructions, separating the fish and keeping the roe separately. He decided to chop the yellow-eared fish offal later, as it would disturb the children at night.

Zhao Defa arrived just before dawn.

He was worried that Chen Shi, being young and impetuous, might chase after the kidnappers and get them involved. "Don't chase after them," he said. "The police are already watching those people on Xikou and Gongshe Road. If you go out alone and run into them, it'll be troublesome."

"I won't pursue it," Chen Shi said. "For things outside, the police and the commune are there. We'll cooperate with whatever they need to do."

Zhao Defa nodded, then glanced into the inner room again. "The child was frightened yesterday. Don't keep asking her questions. Let her calm down first."

Chen Shi hummed in agreement.

Before leaving, Zhao Defa gave him another piece of advice, "Tian Guizhi was also called in for questioning yesterday. The police acted quite quickly this time. Tian Youshan is unhappy about it, so you should keep your distance."

Chen Shi hummed in agreement.

Not long after Zhao Defa left, Aunt Wang came again. Lately, she's been spending more time here than at home, showing how much she cares for Chen Xiulan.

Aunt Wang took out a small packet of brown sugar and handed it to him. "We really don't have any wheat flour at home. We'll have to go to the commune to exchange it. There are a few families near the grain station who are a bit better off. I heard they have fresh fish, so maybe we can exchange it. I'll have Li Cheng go and inquire."

Chen Shi didn't refuse; he put away the brown sugar and then wrapped up a few more fish.

He bumped into Li Cheng as soon as he stepped out the door. Li Cheng had brought the fish he caught yesterday. When he saw the fish that Chen Shi was wrapping up, he laughed at Chen Shi.

"Are we really not going to go find those people?"

"How do we find them? Should we have Ya Ya identify them? Their accomplices have all been arrested by the police, yet they still dare to show their faces. Something feels off about this. The police are in the village right now, so their family will be fine. Let's go get Ya Ya some more flour first."

There were indeed people willing to trade near the commune's grain station. The man from that family worked at the grain station, and his family was a bit better off than the rest of the village. Seeing that the fish was still relatively fresh, he took a rough porcelain bowl and scooped half a bowl of flour into it.

Chen Shi exchanged one crucian carp seed and three willow root seeds.

Li Cheng tried to persuade him one last time, "Brother, it's not easy for us to break the ice and fish in the dead of winter. Look how fresh these crucian carp are..."

"Seven or eight catties of fish can't be exchanged for two catties of flour. Flour requires coupons, but fish doesn't. If you can carry the fish around and exchange them for grain coupons, that's considered a skill."

Chen Shi nodded readily, "Change."

Since you're so straightforward, I won't hold back either; I'll give you an extra handful of coarse salt.

Chen Shi took out the salt packet and handed it to Li Cheng.

Li Cheng was stunned. "Why are you giving me this?"

"Your salt is almost gone. Your second aunt is waiting."

Li Cheng stared at the noodles in the bowl. "Is this enough to steam some buns?"

"Let's save them for now."

After getting the noodles, he didn't rush back. Instead, he dragged his sled to the west end of the village to collect firewood.

Just as the half-load of fallen branches was being weighed down, Tian Youshan came over from the forest road, followed by a member of the forest ranger team, carrying a red lacquered sign and holding a small notebook.

Tian Youshan walked straight towards them without saying a word, nudged the fallen branches above with his toe, and glanced at the axe in Chen Shi's arms.

"Chen Shi," Tian Youshan said, "my sister was called in for questioning. Was it you who gossiped about her?"

Li Cheng flared up immediately, "What kind of person is your sister...?"

Chen Shi stopped him, saying, "Who should ask and who shouldn't is a matter for the brigade and the police, not for me to decide."

Tian Youshan sneered, "Your Chen family has taken all the blame."

Tian Youshan said to the people behind him, "Make a note of this. From now on, you have to register when you burn firewood. If anyone wants to collect fallen branches, they have to get a permit from the forestry station first. If they don't have a permit, their axes and sleds will be confiscated. If they find live branches, report it as timber theft."

The villagers were afraid of Tian Youshan, not because they were afraid of his loud voice, but because they were afraid of the little power he held.

In winter, firewood was all obtained by falling branches from the mountainside. If he said "no permit," any sled could go to waste. If he said "stealing wood," even if the matter was clarified, he would be humiliated in the brigade's house for half a day.

Chen Shi didn't argue with him, but simply put the sled on his shoulder. "Captain Tian is in charge of firewood. My cart is full of fallen branches and corn stalks. I haven't cut any live trees."

Tian Youshan stuck a red lacquered wooden sign into the snow. The sign read "Forest Guards Prohibit Taking".

"You can take this truck back today," he said. "Starting tomorrow, if your family needs firewood, come and get my signature first. Don't think that just because something happened at home, you can bypass the rules."

"Okay," Chen Shi said. "Tomorrow I'll go to the brigade and find out how everyone remembers it. My family won't get special treatment; we'll just remember it the way it's supposed to be."

"You're good at dragging everyone else into this."

"Firewood is a matter for everyone," Chen Shi said, pulling the sled. "It's not like I'm the only one who needs to get through the winter."